


Change and Holding On

by ozbian



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alien Culture, Coran is the only one who hasn't bonded with the team through voltron, Gen, Let Coran bond with his alien space niblings, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-20
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-12-17 16:57:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11855838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ozbian/pseuds/ozbian
Summary: The paladins and Coran undergo a potentially dangerous bonding rite to secure an alliance.





	Change and Holding On

"Hmm." Hunk rubbed his chin and looked at the platter before him thoughtfully. Lance leaned in against his side, following his gaze.

"So, how do you judge presentation anyway?" Lance asked. "The crystal looking stuff is kinda pretty, but it doesn't look like something you'd eat, y'now? And those look like river rocks." 

"I think they're ballast," Hunk said absently, and popped some of the pink crystal into his mouth. It melted lightly on his tongue, leaving a taste like avocado and chili. 

Taste's good, Hunk noted, not much to say about texture since it was there and gone, a bit unsatisfying but Hunk had expected that. Xenobiology wasnt really Hunk's thing, but the Ourians didn't seem to need to eat much.

Good snack food, maybe seasoning, Hunk thought, and made a note to find out the source.

But no, that thought led to agriculture and farming, and the ground, and how very far away it was right now. Hunk swallowed and determinedly turned his attention back to the food.

Hunk wondered if the square shaped cheese looking things were food or napkins, and gave one to Lance to try. Lance nibbled on the maybe food thing absent mindedly but didn't spit it out. Hunk shrugged and gave it a try. Light and crunchy, salty though. He added it to the snack list and moved on.

Lance was watching the drift and whirl of people being carried around by the wind's currents outside their little bubble of calm. They looked like fluffy, multi-coloured, streamers of cloud, or cotton candy.

It looked like fun. He knew he wasn't allowed to join in but he really, really wanted to. He let out a little whine. 

But Coran had said that this was an important cultural event and mentioned something about the winds of fate?.

And Allura had said to be careful not to interfere and that they were to "engage only so far as we are invited." 

And Keith had said something about not understanding why everyone made us play games before they'd let us help them. 

And Allura had got that frustrated, pinched look that meant she kind of agreed but was trying to be diplomatic.

Lance glanced over to see Allura wearing the faint echo of that look as she stared around at the dancing streams. 

Lance didn't know how long it had been since they were brusquely directed to the observation platform and told to stay there until after the rites, but it looked like Allura was running out of patience. 

That could be good or bad. Allura had shouted more than one alliance into existence, but she always looked vaguely disappointed in herself later. And there was no one here to shoot at but them. So probably bad. 

Coran was walking around the edge of the platform, in blithe disregard of the drop off the platform and the heavy winds whipping around outside. He watched the display with rapt attention and muttered enthusiastically to himself about formations and family structures and rites of passage. 

Keith had resting edge-face. He'd thought it was too risky for everyone to leave the Castle, but the people Allura had spoken to insisted that everyone come along. Keith kept looking tenser as time passed by with nothing happening. 

Pidge's hands were at her waist, fiddling with the antigrav belt they were all required to wear. She suddenly shot up about a foot, but before she reached the top of their dome Shiro had reached over and grabbed her hand without even looking at her, pulling her back down to the platform. 

Pidge let go of the belt and turned her attention back to the detector on the table in front of her, muttering about anomalies. 

Yeah, Lance thought as he tapped his fingers against Hunk's arm, he had the feeling that he wasn't going to be bored for much longer. 

Lance looked out again, and his attention was caught by a pink ball of fluff pulling itself along one of the vines leading to their platform. The wind swept the fluff against their body and Lance saw that beneath the fluff they were very, very small. 

The alien passed through the barrier in front of Lance and shook themselves until their pink fur fluffed out into a spherical ball. Lance noted for the first time that the alien had blue and green patches of fluff, giving it a polkadot effect. He hadn't seen any other aliens with polkadots. 

The alien would have came up to about Lance's waist, if they wasn't floating at about head height.

They were really, really cute.

"Hi!" the alien said. "You guys must be the aliens!" 

They hovered over to the table and picked up one of the stones, which caused them to sink to the platform. 

Ballast, Lance thought as the alien tucked the stone away inside their fluff. He smiled at Hunk.

The alien's name was Amiba, and she thought they were adorable. 

"You look like giant babies," she chattered, "With only a teeny bit of fluff and your big exposed eyes." 

"Aww," Lance said, smiling at her. "I think you're cute too! Humans love fluffy things." 

"We really do," Hunk agreed.

Amiba helped herself to some of the meal. Her arm and hands were thin and spidery. 

Allura tried to ask her about what was going on, but Lance noted that Amiba seemed to be good at fluttery redirection. She said the elders were busy with the rites and went off talking a bit about the planet and her smart friends and Hunk even got her talking about what seemed like a weird combination of farming and herding floating balloon animals. She was fun. 

Amiba quickly got them talking about the Galra, and some of what they'd gone through together. She looked thoughtful, and said, "It sounds like you've all gone through many storms together. I didn't know that aliens, even aliens to each other, could belong together like you all do." 

There was a short, awkward pause. Lance saw Keith duck his head slightly, arms folded across his chest. Aww. 

Amiba's smart friends stopped by a bit later. They were blue and green, and both had pink polkadots in addition to polkadots with the other's colours.

"We're rebels," Amiba proclaimed proudly from her seat between Hunk and Lance. 

"We're decided," said the blue Merina, firmly. She was seated beside the princess 

"We don't need the winds to tell us who we belong with," added the green Torix. He was seated beside Pidge and had interrupted their technobabble conversation to speak up. 

"You're a cluster?" Coran asked, a gleam in his eye. He glanced at the princess. 

Torix bristled, his green fluff standing out sharply. 

"Yup!" Amiba said quickly. "We can withstand anything!" 

"I've heard that clusters are very important to your people," Allura said, sounding very interested. "Can you tell me some more about them?" 

Clusters, as it turned out, were very important. Clusters were something like family groups. Beings that weren't in a proven cluster were seen as unstable and unreliable, not to be trusted. 

"In the old days clusters were determined by Fate," said Merina said. "We were at the mercy of the winds, and it was hard to hold onto anything for more than a storm season. We made a religion out of uncertainty and decided that having to let go and change made us better, more adaptable or more resilient or something."

"It wasn't until some of our people landed in a sheltered place that we were able to start building technology and infrastructure to hold us together," said Torix, "and it took ages for that to catch on with the majority left in the wind."

"Some people still hold onto the social side of it," Merina said. "Well, most people."

"But we're not going to let go of each other just because it's how most people do things," said Amiba with unexpected fierceness. "We've proven we can stay together, and keep each other alive, and we'll do it again." 

"I see," Allura said thoughtfully.

"We thought you would," Merina said placidly. 

"Whether or not the Fates exist," Torix growled, "we know the Galra are real. We know that they will come. You are necessary for our survival."

Amiba made a squeaking sound and her fur shivered. Torix seemed to glance at her, then turned his attention back to the piece of tech in front of him. 

Lance had sat up sharply, a hopeful smile on his face as he glanced out at the passing flow of Ourians. "So how exactly does a cluster go about proving itself?"

"It's... it's pretty straightforward," Amiba stammered for a moment. "You just hold together through the rite of change." She pointed outwards into the swirling current of floof. "Once you land safely, wherever that is, the people you survived with are fated to be your cluster. You build your lives together until the next storm season." 

"And, uh." Hunk swallowed. "How many people can be in a cluster? Exactly?" 

"It is not a question of numbers," said Merina. "It is whoever is necessary for your survival through the trials of the storms. It is those that you can hold together and survive with, so that you can live with." 

The paladins current and former exchanged looks, and Coran cleared his throat. "Right then," he said briskly. "I doubt that will give us too much trouble."

"Right, right," Hunk met Lance's eyes and firmed his shoulders.

Lance gave him a slap on the back. "Don't worry buddy, we'll be right there." 

"C'mon Hunk," Pidge said, and gave a slight smile. "Coran's right. I'm sure it won't be any trouble at all." Hunk and Shiro both glanced at Pidge, and relaxed slightly. 

"I get the feeling that I may need to contact you again, after this is done," said Allura, looking at Merina.

Torix held forth a small device, which Merina passed to Allura. "I'm sure our elders will be in a ... better position to discuss an alliance with you after the rites have beem completed."

Lance moved toward the edge of the platform, and Keith moved up beside him. 

Lance glanced around then sneakily edged his hand forward, finger extended outward. As it passed the edge of the barrier, he felt the force of the wind pushing his finger backward against its natural inclination, and he quickly pulled his hand back. 

Keith looked down and saw the windburn on his finger, then turned back towards the others. "Helmets on, everyone." 

Shiro glanced at Merina. "How do we do this?" 

"When you're ready, we'll collapse the protective bubble and the current will take you." Merina explained. "The gravity storms themselves don't last for long, but the wind currents can keep you going for a long while." 

"Gravity storms?" Hunk queried. 

Amiba sounded like she was frowning. "Hey, you guys float in water right? It's just that you look pretty dense, and the wind can take you a long way."

Lance frowned. "Yeah, we'll be fine. What about you guys though? Do you have somewhere to go?"

Torix sighed. "We've always been a cluster, ever since our first storm. But they keep making us prove it in the rites." 

"We aren't worried," Amiba assured Lance. "Torix is just annoyed because we have to keep rebuilding his lab."

"That sucks," Pidge said sympathetically. 

"That's how it is, for now," Merina said calmly. "But let's just say it's a good thing that my people are adaptable."

Torix handed a small device over to Pidge. "When you're ready, just hit the green button."

"Good luck!" Amiba called. They each dropped their ballast stones and floated upward, forming a circle with their arms bound together. They hovered forward then passed out of the dome and were sucked away. Lance watched as their ball of pink, green and blue fluff was blown away into the distance, quickly lost to sight. 

***

"Okay," Pidge announced. "I've slaved all your antigrav belts to mine, it should make it easier to adapt quickly to the gravity changes as a group." She pushed her glasses up into her nose. "These are really cool, by the way. I can see why the Galra want access to their tech, but I haven't really seen any other tech here.

"Amiba said it had something to do with the Rites being old-school," Lance said absently.

"So, gravity storms, huh?" Shiro asked. 

"Yup."

"Not as uncommon as you'd think!" Coran proclaimed.

Keith looked over at Hunk. "You're our engineer, any ideas?"

"So I'm thinking," Hunk said, "The best structure we can go for will be a 'v' formation while in the wind to cut down air resistance, and switch to a sort of sphere in the gravity shifts so that everyone has as many points of contact as possible and we don't lose anyone while passing through. When it's time to descend, I assume we won't be plummeting to our deaths, Pidge?"

"Nope," Pidge said cheerfully. "As long as the belts don't burn out during the storm, I can switch the gravity way down for the descent."

"Okay, so we spread out like we're skydiving to increase air resistance and give the belts as much help as possible during the descent."

Shiro glanced at Allura, who nodded. "Okay, sounds like we have a plan," Shiro said. "Good work, Hunk." 

"So whose out in front?"

***

"Whooooooo!" Lance screamed.

Keith grinned and tightened his grip on Lance's foot.

***

"Whooooooo!" Lance continued screaming, gripping onto Keith's foot.

"Hey buddy?" Hunk yelled from his side. "I love you, and I would never, ever let you go, but I kinda really want to." 

"Love you too, Hunk."

***

"I never really wanted to be the head," Hunk screeched from the head of the formation.

***

"I think this actually makes more sense, from a physics standpoint," said Pidge, before she got a helmet full of white fluff. 

"Hey buddy," she said to the small floofy anteater thing clinging to her shoulder. "Sorry about that "

***

"Wheeeeeee!" Allura certainly did not squeal.

*** 

"I didn't know they had greater horned poison troxiphilbians on this planet!" Coran called. "This is a great opportunity. Let's go take a closer look, shall we?"

***

It was kind of nice up here, Shiro thought, as he deftly moved the formation around another cluster of aliens, his team following seamlessly behind him. 

"The gravity anomaly is nearly on top of us," Pidge called. 

Shiro smiled. "Alright team. Ready to form sphere?"

"Yeah!" 

***

Gravity storms kinda sucked, Lance decided. They were nothing like real storms. Give him rain and lightning any day, not these sudden shifts of feeling lighter and denser and switched spatial orientation. 

Lance couldn't really see what was happening outside, he was facing inwards with everyone else, but he was sure the sphere was tilting, and his stomach felt like it was pressing into his back. It was becoming a bit more difficult to maintain his grip on Hunk and Keith.

"Hey guys?" Lance said, glancing at the helmeted heads surrounding him. "Guys, I think my belt's losing -"

There was another shift and suddenly gravity was flipped, he was falling upward instead of downward and breaking through their formation to the open sky above with nothing holding him except the switched gravity.

He screamed.

"Lance!" came the cry from below.

"Pidge, how much longer until the next gravity shift?" Shiro asked urgently. 

"There's no way to know!" 

"Can you unslave my belt? " Keith demanded. "I'm the lightest after you, my belt has the least strain." 

"Keith," Pidge snapped, "if that mattered then why would his have stopped working first?" 

"Aaaaaah!" Lance screamed as gravity reversed again.

"Spread out to catch him!" Hunk yelled. "Make a net! Lance buddy, try to shift so you're coming at us lengthways."

"I've turned the gravity down," Pidge called. "We'll all be falling for a bit but it should make him easier to ..."

Lance was coming in fast, still screaming, but he'd managed to turn stomach down and spread out his limbs. He could see what the team were doing but there was no way for him to manouvere and He was pretty much aimed directly at one of the holes in their net.

There was a long way down. He should have enough time to get in some pretty cool last words.

He was through the net of paladins, but he was wrenched upright as something grabbed his hand.

There was a tentacle wrapped around his hand.

"Got you," Allura called, and he followed the tentacle back to Allura, who was now missing a gauntlet.

He could hear Pidge and the others cheering, even as they fell, and it took him a moment to catch his breath.

"Thanks, Allura," he said, as she pulled him back into tandem with the group. 

"New formation," Shiro called. "Everyone hold onto Lance."

"Yeah," his team chorused. 

***

"We're just about through the storm," Pidge said from her spot wrapped around Lance's calf. She was using his knee as a device rest.

Lance sighed. His legs were apparently prime Lance holding positions. He couldn't even twitch without someone yelling about kicking.

"Hunk," Lance grumbled, "I can't breathe."

Hunk reflexively tightened his arm around Lance's waist. "I don't care, man. You are my teddy bear until I can get my feet back on solid ground."

"We aren't that far," Shiro smiled comfortingly down at him, and Lance tried not to feel awkward about having his back against Shiro's chest and arms wrapped around him. Would a line make this worse? A line would probably make this worse.

He opened his mouth and Pidge said, "And we're through. Can we please go down now?"

"Oh God yes," Lance blurted. 

**

They landed without incident, and Pidge pretty much tackled Lance to get at the anti grav belt.

She jostled his wrenched shoulder when she took him down but Lance didn't really care. He was just happy to lie there and occasionally kick his legs.

Hunk sat down next to him for a few minutes, then made Lance sit up so he could take off his back and chestplate to check his shoulder.

Shiro and Keith stood on guard, eyes scanning over the team and their surroundings periodically. 

Coran went to have what he called a quick squiz around the local environment.

After a few minutes Keith walked over and gently kicked Lance's foot. "Hey," he said. "How's the arm?" 

"Meh."

Keith rolled his eyes and hunkered down next to them.

"It'll be bruised and swollen for awhile," said Hunk, "but it could've been worse." 

"Could've been a Lance-shaped pan cake," Lance agreed, then made Hunk help him out the armour back on. 

It was awhile but Allura was finally able to get on to Merina, who managed to organise a meeting with the elders. 

***

The elders were a bit grumpy, but the Rite of Change was the tool of Fate, and it was the ultimate arbiter.

"It's why those three young decided are still plaguing us," one of the apparently elder fluff balls sighed. 

"Change and adaptation are the keys to survival," Merina said calmly. "But so is holding on to what works."

"So you keep saying, acolyte." 

Coran, Allura, Shiro, Hunk, Lance, Keith and Pidge were each declared to be members of a proven Cluster, and were given the blessings of holding and survival, pending the coming storm season. 

Allura waited until the accords were signed to mention that her cluster was pretty well decided, and very good at holding on.

**Author's Note:**

> Why yes, I did create dandelion fluff aliens :)
> 
> Not betaed, comments and concrit always welcome


End file.
